Cotton Bowl

Christmas with the family was WONDERFUL. Christmas Eve was spent with my mom's side. I really enjoy this because we usually only see our cousins once a year, and it's this night. It was good to catch up with all of them. Sadly, Nathan, Amanda, Henry, Kyle & Erik were all missing. The older we get, the harder it is to get everyone there :( Christmas Day is always spent with Dad's family. I haven't see them since this summer so again it was nice to catch up with them. Seth, Ashton & I had a great time playing with all their new toys. We all got way to many presents but were and are very grateful for everything.

This past week has been so much fun. I left Abilene on the 27th to head east to Dallas for the 72nd Annual AT&T Cotton Bowl. Casey and Neisha have survived another week of me. We had such a good time (Well I know I did, I am assuming they did too!) First night--Casey & Neisha had some sort of dinner, I went to dinner with a bunch of guys---athletic trainers & equipment managers--then we went to a place called Red River (a lot like Midnight Rodeo). To me, this is a normal country & western place, the boys (Texas foreigners) apparently have never experienced a place like that. They thought it was heaven on earth. We had a great time. Second day---Neisha, Audrey (my boss' daughter) and I went to Grapevine Mills to do a little shopping. We had a great time, got some cute stuff. That night my friend Becky & I hung out and caught up on everything. We went to Tech together and both were student athletic trainers. We haven't seen each other in over a year, so we had a lot to talk about. Third day---Slept in cause Neisha had a shopping thing to go to with the wives. I decided I didn't wanna hang out in the room so I'm going to go to the mall. Get on the interstate and RUIN a tire. Two nice guys stop and change my tire and I end up at Sears buying a new tire :( I wasn't happy about this at all...Dad's checkbook isn't either. That night I hung out in the hospitality room with a bunch of people associated with the athletic department. That place was AMAZING. We had so much fun. Fourth day--Neisha and I sleep in FOREVER late, which was great. Bad luck continues--I knock my perfume bottle off the cabinet while brushing my teeth, it's over half way full, it breaks....but the rooms smells great. Casey & Neisha have team things to do so I got eat with Becky at Chuys....great place. Some people put a glass down behind me and I don't know it, knock it off the table--it shatters. It's clearly not my day, we sit down to eat my necklace breaks....little beads go EVERYWHERE. Can anything else possibly happen? Another friend from undergrad shows up, we catch up, go get the boys from the hotel and hang out for the rest of the night. New Year's Eve---Neisha, Audrey & I go to Sam Moon....I LOVE that place. Buy jewelry. Tom & Becky--Casey's brother and his friend show up so we all (Casey, Neisha, Tom, Becky, Adam, Matt & me) go to Pappadeaux's for supper....it was great and then hang out in the hotel room. We decide about 11:40 we are going to bed because it's going to be an EARLY morning on New Years...well the other thousands of people in the hotel didn't feel like going to bed early and had a celebration at midnight. It was very loud in our room, but we didn't even turn on the lights, just waited it out and went to sleep. New Years Day--Casey had to be downstairs about 5:30 am for taping...we all end up getting up by 6 am. 4 of us take showers pack all our bags and are leaving the hotel by 7:20. The day before it was chaos at the Cotton Bowl stadium. Everyone is saying arrive early because it will take forever to get there. Needless to say NO ONE was on 1-35 at 7:25. We were in the parking lot in our front row parking spot at 7:45. Neisha and I sleep until about 9:30 when we decide to go to stadium.

Our seats were AMAZING. We were on the 35 yard line Row 9, but there were only 4 rows in front of us. It was great. The game was a ton of fun. Of course we WON!! Missouri 38 Arkansas 7 Willie Mo (William Moore) broke the Missouri Single Season Interception Record with his 8th interception of the year. Tony Temple broke the Cotton Bowl Rushing Yards record with 281 and broke the record for most rushing touchdowns in the Cotton Bowl with 4. There are tons more highlights of the game, but those are the major ones. One of my good friends Lucas hurt his knee several weeks ago and missed several games, but after many hours of rehab and me making him SMILE through it everyday, he was healthy again and got to play in his last game as a Tiger. I was super excited, so that's why there's several pictures of him. Steven is our deep snapper. He's a senior as well. We have several grad classes together, so he is somewhat forced to be my friend ;) Plus, I have done tons of his ankle rehabs. Arkansas fans had basically cleared out their side by halfway through the 4th quarter. It was amazing to see the Cotton Bowl go from full to half empty. Enjoy the pictures!